Interesting premise; unsuccessful result.
Make a monster by lifting the flaps.
In the voice of the monster on the cover, rhyming, instructive text on each page asks readers to determine whether or not the creature in the illustrations is a monster. Children are prompted to unfold monster-appropriate appendages, including horns, wings, and scaly blue feet. A new element appears in each spread, in the manner of a reverse-order Go Away, Big Green Monster—but it’s not nearly as successful as Ed Emberley’s classic. The flaps, though carefully illustrated, are confusing: How they operate to complete the monster (as promised on the back) is inconsistent, and readers must perform a fair amount of acrobatics to make the monster visible. The rhyming text is fun to read aloud, but it meanders, shifting between grandiloquent praise of the creature’s various body parts, such as “splendid gold horns,” and entreaties to readers to tell the truth about whether or not the creature is, in fact, a monster in the negative sense. The book’s design—which includes a circular hole in the middle of the book sporting teeth and a tongue—will certainly appeal to young readers who are still exploring the world with their hands. Overall, though, both the book’s message and artwork are too confusing for most children to decipher, and the flimsiness of the flaps guarantees a short shelf life.
Interesting premise; unsuccessful result. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-6715-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Young ones will want to join in on this monster romp again and again, since it is all so silly, comforting and familiar.
The menagerie of monsters from Yolen and Murphy’s previous pairing (Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters, 2011) returns for an adventure at the playground.
All sorts and sizes of monsters gather at Creepy Commons to have some fun. The author uses two- or three-word phrases to build a steady rhyming text describing the full range of activities taking place. “Monsters stretch. / Monsters twirl. // Monsters catch. / Monsters hurl. // Monsters tumble, / Run, and lope. / Monsters jump / A monster rope.” The cadence will be soothing to young ears, leaving the eyes of toddlers and preschoolers to discover the playful details found throughout the soft-hued illustrations painted in oil, acrylic and gel. This diverse bunch is cute and cuddly without coming across as overly sweet. Some have four eyeballs, and some have only one. Pointy horns and handlike hair sprout from curious places on this happily rambunctious crew. Big and small, young and old—all cavort on slides and swings. Occasionally, there is a mishap—“Monsters in / Three-legged races / Fall upon / Their Monster faces”—but it is nothing a “monster-sicle” treat cannot fix.
Young ones will want to join in on this monster romp again and again, since it is all so silly, comforting and familiar. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 9, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5727-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
Good, silly fun wrapped in crisp graphics.
Robot extraterrestrials encounter a farm on Earth.
A family of bots, each carrying a handy digital device called a Zot, head away from their mod-looking single-occupant space vehicles to explore the moon. All, that is, except Blip, who spies Earth and heads there instead. Staccato rhyming text covers Blip’s exploration, with his Zot warning him each time he’s about to encounter something new. “ ‘Blip, stop!’ / ‘Zot, wazzzzzdot?’ ” Broad visual cues, which at first only show parts of the whole, let kids in on the fun—they’ll know that muddy pig by its curly pink tail. Blip encounters boxes of fresh, crunchy vegetables, three aggressive chickens, a dairy cow and more. Each new discovery reveals more of what is obviously a farm. After Blip drives a tractor—with predictable results involving a tree stump—the mother bot arrives, looking quite displeased. His Zot summarizes all that Blip has encountered (Slack shows the farm denizens in silhouette above their heads), and the bots happily explore. Mother collects her explorer for departure—but where is Blip? Driving Sunnyland Farm’s veggies to town, of course. Slack’s digital paintings couple stylized, sharp-edged images and a wild color palette of magenta, chartreuse, blue and orange to convey an ET’s-eye view of familiar toddler icons.
Good, silly fun wrapped in crisp graphics. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8347-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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